Journey to Jaburo: Tactics Battle Novel
by Greatness and Hat
Summary: J2J's Tactics Battle Mode with more of a story to it. My first post but not my first story.


Journey to Jaburo: Tactics Battle  
  
File 01: War In the Forest  
  
1200 hours, Central Europe:  
  
The Zeon forces, in desperate need of supplies, have gathered here to attack and control a nearby Federation supply base. A 3 mobile suit team has been assigned to the task of eliminating the base defenses and vital facilities.  
  
In the briefing room of the Zeon base sit 3 mobile suit pilots, each with a passive look on their face. The first pilot, Sergeant Mike McMahon, on the left has short black hair with equal colored eyes, looks to be in his early 20's. To the right is an even younger looking man named Warrant Officer Orion Williams with blonde hair and green eyes. Where Sgt. McMahon radiates a sense of seriousness, Warrant Officer Williams looks more restless and bored. Finally is their leader in the middle, Colonel Eric Long. His hair is oak brown and his eyes match his hair. He looks younger than he is, age 32, except for the small scar running down his right cheek. Each of them stare quietly ahead to hear the briefing they're about to receive.  
  
Before them stands a fairly young woman with black hair and a pink hair tie. Her uniform denotes her as Private First Class in rank. Clearning her throat, she begins the briefing with a hologram on the side wall. The map displays an overhead of the entire area with the Zeon indicated on the Southeast corner. "As you know, our forces are in desperate need of supply lines." A blue arrow arches out towards the base now. "Your mission is an all-out assault against a Federation transport hub-station" 3 bright red icons flash indictating the targets "situated in a mountainous region in Europe". "It's a small-scale base" the woman continues as 2 pictures are magnified on the screen. 1 is of their main objective: The 3 main hangars. Below it is a picture of one of the bases' defense guns marked "Battery". Above the pictures in red is a flashing icon labeled "Target". "So you should be able to destroy your target: The base's main facility. We also want you to secure as much of the base's supplies stored there, undamaged if at all possible. Alright then, I wish you the best of luck. That is all". The 3 pilots rise to their feet and exit the room.   
  
  
  
1600 hours, Central Europe.   
  
Seen kneeling in position are 2 Zaku II-F units, painted in forest green. In their right hands is the trademark Zaku 120mm machinegun. 2 leg missile pods adorn the legs of the green Zeon machines, Cracker grenades situated on the skirting, and the Zaku Heat Hawk on the rear rack. In front of the 2 however, kneeling as well, is an aqua and dark blue MS-07 Gouf It's 75mm finger guns are hidden under it's shield and it's long Heat Saber is held in it's right hand.   
  
The 3 pilots seen earlier approach these machines clad in normal suits. Mike and Orion are wearing green suits however while the leading pilot wears a blue one to suit his MS's color scheme. "Ah, about time you got here Colonel!" the lead mechanic says with a grin. "How is my Gouf? Is it ready to go?" the deep voiced Colonel Long asks. "Yes, she's all set. Just don't bang her up too bad out there this time?" the mechanic answers with a hint of humor. This humor is not returned by Eric "I'll try not to". Turning to his subordinates, Eric orders "Board your suits, men, and prepare to move out. We'll discuss the plan on the way". A pair of "yes sir" is their replies as they head for their Zakus. Eric looks at his Gouf now with a passive look but his eyes reflecting a hidden sense of anticipation.  
  
After boarding their machines, the 3 pilots begin to warm up their Mobile Suits. From within the giant machines comes the powering up sounds of their fusion reactors. "Mike, Orion.. are you ready?" Eric asks while bringing his machine online. "All good" Mike answers first and Orion replies "I'm ready as well, Colonel". "Alright, make course 3-5-0 once you're on your feet. I'll take point, you cover me from the flanks". "Roger" they answer back.   
  
Together as a unit the 3 Zeon Mobile Suits rise to their feet, their pink mono-eyes glowing to life. "Ok team, lets move out!" Eric's voice is heard over the loudspeakers. In a triangle formation, the 3 machines walk out of the base and for a dense forest ahead of them. The base crew watch in wonder as the trio head out to make war with the Federation forces..  
  
1700, Central Europe.  
  
Standing on the east bank of a river are the 3 Zeon MS. Eric is up front while Mike and Orion wait not far behind him. Over their radios comes the voice of the Private. Straight to the point, she reminds them "Destroy the bases facilities!". Eric, ready for battle, orders "You heard the lady, let's move out! I'll go on ahead and create a diversion, ok? You advance together and hit them on their right side!" Moving his Gouf into the river, he hears them acknowledge his call. Together they charge for the base, Eric's Gouf taking a wide lead as it charges through the river itself. Kicking the boosters once, he power jumps to gain some distance. Reaching a fork in the middle of the river, the Private reminds them "You're almost at the enemy's security zone. All units use caution!". Following the bank of the river, Eric ignites his Gouf Heat Saber and preps it for battle. Soon he reaches another fork in the river. Instead of following it, he power jumps the river itself and advances through some more trees. Reaching the outskirts of the base, he spots his secondary objective. 3 defense guns are searching for his squadron but a new factor comes into play. "Tally ho on the base. I see 2 Guntanks and a GM covering the base! Stay alert, gentlemen!" Eric orders over the radio. Taking the middle gun into his sights, he leaps over the treeline and fires his 75mm. The gun emplacement quickly falls to the heavy rounds and explodes. The Guntank takes a moment to aim but Eric already moves and fires on a second emplacement. However on his way to hitting the last emplacement, the Guntank scores a hit against his shield. "Damn tank!" he curses outloud. The damage isn't serious so he continues his attack. Evading another round of 180mm shells, he fires on the last emplacement and effectively destroys the gun.  
  
Over the radio, he hears the voice of the Guntank pilot "Nimble bastard!". Lowering his 75mm, Eric holds his saber and charges. Frantically the Guntank fires it's hand Bob Rockets but the more agile Gouf evades the shots. Taking to the air now, the Gouf aims it's weapon down at the Guntank's head. The Federation pilot screams but is suddenly silenced by the heat weapon. The tank is cut deep from it's head to it's reactor and explodes moment's later after shorting out.   
  
The GM decides to make it's presence known at this point. Clearly the pilot isn't fully experienced however as Eric easily figures out the pilot's tactics. He charges ahead, dodging the beams fired from the enemy's Beam Spray Gun. Boosting over the base's outer walls, he looks towards the GM with hungry eyes. Pulling his saber back into a swinging position, he drops quickly at the machine. It's a miss as the GM uses it's thrusters to jump back and avoid certain death.  
  
Now Mike and Orion's Zakus reach the area and distract the enemy GM with 120mm fire. This works in Eric's favor as he now whips his Gouf's Heat Rod at the GM and disables it for a few seconds. His saber ready, Eric charges the GM and cuts it in half horizontially. "That's 2 down!" Eric says with a slight trace of excitment. Behind the hangar now are 3 parked Type-61 tanks, their 150mm double barrels aimed. Raising his shield, the 3 Zeon suits charge them and decimate their opponents.   
  
While the Zakus clean up the mess with the tanks, Eric proceeds to the left flank and eliminates the final 3 fixed guns. His attention is soon drawn away as the final Guntank starts firing at him. His Gouf's speed saves him as he ducks out of the way just in time. Instead of metal, the shells tear into a tree behind him. "I don't have time for you!" Eric says angrily and charges with his heat saber. Throwing his boosters into a full-burn, he thrusts forward and stabs the Guntank. The tough tank MS doesn't give up however and tries to pull back. Again Eric charges but this time slams the Guntank with his shoulder spikes, immobilizing the suit. Finally he cuts the cockpit of the suit in half, killing the suit for good.   
  
Behind the fallen suit is another gun which the Gouf promptly removes. At this time however the Private's frantic voice comes over their COM "Enemy reinforcements confirmed! Be on your guard, please!". 3 more Type-61 tanks present their weapons but Eric looks past them across the base. From his viewpoint he can see 2 additional GMs and a special Gundam(G) type. "Oh man, this day just keeps getting better, doesn't it?" Eric mutters.  
  
As he begins clearing the tanks, Mike's voice comes over the COM "Enemy fire is too intense, Colonel! We've taken damage and we must pull back!" Eric growls a bit but saves his thought for later "Fine, get your Zakus away from here! I'll cover you and take out their mobile suits!". Running full speed now, Eric charges into the heart of the base, killing an additional 6 Type-61s. By now the enemy has arrived at the base's walls and is pelting Eric's area with beams and 180mm cannon fire. Ducking behind one of the base's hangars, he regroups himself for a counterattack.   
  
"Hah! He's all alone! Let's get em, boys!" the Gundam(G) pilot declares confidently. Saving his ammo, he holds fire until he reaches the rear of the hangar. His confidence is replaced with horror however as the Zeon Gouf jars his suit with it's heat rod. Stunned, the pilot can only randomly fire it's chest vulcan. He doesn't regain the initiative however as the Gouf slices his Gundam apart with it's heat saber. "You Zeon scum! You'll pay for that!" one of the 2 GM pilots yells viciously. This only brings a smile to Eric's face as he again dives behind the hangar. They try and surround the hangar but suddenly Eric jumps up and over the building, his saber glowing dark orange. "What the hell?!" the same GM pilot says in surprise. His words are short lived as the Gouf slices the mobile suit from neck to torso with it's saber, removing it from battle. The last GM ignites it's saber and charges the Gouf. Thinking quickly, Eric raises it's shield and deflects the enemy suit's weapon away. Thrusting his saber forward, he cuts the GM through the torso and racks up his 6th kill. The last fixed gun is seen on his radar and he fires on it, destroying it on impact. By now the 3rd wave of Federation reinforcements arrive. "A GM Sniper II and 2 more GMs.." Eric reads to himself from his computer screen. "I'm getting low on fuel too, I'll havta make this quick".   
  
As he reaches the interior of the base, he is nearly shot down by the GM Sniper. "What the hell?!" Eric shouts out. He quickly scans the area, looking for Federation units. His eyes quickly pick out the shape of a modified GM sporting a large beam rifle. "There you are!" the Zeon Colonel proclaims and charges his assailant. Taking aim, the GM Sniper prepares a shot but is suddenly peppered with 120mm fire. Glancing over, Eric can see Mike's Zaku firing wildly at the enemy. "Mike? Report!" Eric orders over the radio. "I managed to get Orion away, sir. When I was told the enemy was being reinforced again, I came back. Ready to help take this base, Colonel!" Eric smiles for a moment but remembers the GM Sniper II ahead of him. "Roger that, keep up the support. I can take this guy down!" Just as the GM pilot fires a shot at Eric, he boosts up and over the machine to it's rear. Turning faster than the enemy, he cuts through the GM's rear armor. The cut pierces the machine's reactor and knocks it out of the battle. "Thanks for the support, Mike. 2 more GMs approaching! I'll take them out, you stay behind and hold the base!". The Gouf turns on it's heel and boosts over the wall into the woods to make more trouble.  
  
"Dammit, they got our sniper!" the lead GM pilot curses aloud. "Don't worry sir, we'll get that Zeek bastard!" replies his wingman. Unknown to them awaits Eric in his Gouf, it's saber still alight and ready to go. "Hold...... hold..." he whispers to himself as the GMs pass by. As soon as he's behind him, the Gouf rockets out and attacks the 2nd GM in the back. A quick saber slash and the Federation mobile suit crashes to the ground in a heap. "NO!" the leader pilot screams and fires it's Beam Spray Gun wildly. Eric quickly raises his shield and blocks a beam. Unfortunately this shot cuts a neat, round hole in his shield. "Damn beam weapons!" Eric spits out and ducks in the woods for some cover. The pilot gives chase but this leaves him wide open as Eric lashes his Heat Rod out and smashes the GM's visor. Before his camera can come back online, Eric finishes the machine with a quick cut across the torso. "That's 9..." Eric says to himself through gasps of breath. "I'm reporting 2 more GM's, Colonel!" Mike calls in. "Dammit! From where?" Eric replies angrily. "One of them's coming from the south and the other from the east". "Fine! I'll take the one in the south. Hit and run the other one until I can get back!" Eric orders and begins running south. "Copy that!" Mike is heard answering.   
  
Running along a woodland road for awhile, Eric looks out for the approaching GM. Seeing a blur of red in the woods ahead of him, he quickly dives aside for cover. This move is well played as a beam suddenly cuts through a tree he was standing in front of. "I've had enough of this.." he says through clenched teeth. As the GM advances to check his work, the Gouf lundges forward and cuts through the GM's armor with his saber. Quickly the machine topples over and explodes. "Now to help Mike..."  
  
After a few power jumps and some off terrain hiking, the Gouf finds his last target. Hidden behind one of the bridges on the river, the GM fires it's Beam Spray Gun at Mike's battered Zaku. Noticing the Gouf's arrival, the GM turns to him and fires a shot. Thinking quickly, Eric sideboots behind a thicket of trees and avoides the beam. Mike takes this opprotunity to throw 2 of his cracker grenades at the GM, disorientating it. "Get that sucker, Colonel!" Mike shouts out. Eric ablidges by jumping over the woodlands, ontop of the bridge, and firing his 75mm guns at the GM's head. With it's visuals out, the 2 combine their attack and finish off the last mobile suit. "All enemy assault units destroyed!" the Private's voice echoes again. Turning towards the hangars, Eric calls to Mike "Ready to complete the mission?" Mike answers back with a grin "Let's do it, sir."   
  
  
  
Conclusion: After trashing the base's primary hangars, Colonel Long and Sargeant McMahon returned to base. At the end of the day, 11 Federation mobile suits were laid to waste in the attack. An additional 12 tanks and 8 guns were also destroyed in the attack. After their War in the Forest, they were celebrated for their efforts. Sgt. Mike McMahon was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and WO Orion Williams was promoted to Corporal. Transfer orders were received days later and soon the 3 pilots would be heading to Asia for their next campaign.... 


End file.
